Pages

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

SNAPSHOT: Maryland Election Day Voter Turnout is Very Low // Reports & Anecdotes From the Electoral Battle Field

Maryland Juice has been checking in with politicos and scanning the news to get a sense of turnout for today's Presidential and Congressional Primaries. Every single source is indicating turnout today is exceptionally low across the board. Even the contested GOP Presidential Primary does not appear to be generating much interest. Two politicos who are looking at the statewide political scene had only this to say about turnout:

Source 1: "Just low everywhere."

Source 2: "As of 11 AM, Prince George's and Charles are outpacing every other jurisdiction in the State."

One source in Montgomery County's 8th Congressional District arrived at the morning polls and texted Maryland Juice the following message: "Turnout is extremely low. Perhaps historically so." Indeed, Maryland Juice previously reported that CD8 had the worst turnout in the state during early voting.

PATCH.COM REPORTS ON AM TURNOUT: Thanks to the small army of micro-bloggers at the Patch.com, I have been able to compile a snapshot of turnout numbers and anecdotes from around Maryland. Below see a few clips from the Patch army:

GAITHERSBURG PATCH (Germantown Turnout): As of 8 a.m., the steady stream of voters at Martin Luther King Middle School couldn’t even be described as a steady stream. It was more like intermittent drips — a couple of voters bopping in at time, in order to cast votes before work.

GAITHERSBURG PATCH (Gaithersburg Turnout): With polls open for about three hours, voter turnout at Rachel Carson Elementary School was light, according to the chief election judge.... But in a precinct with nearly 4,000 registered voters, at 10am only 120 had cast ballots.... Despite the heavy media coverage of the Republican presidential primary and the four remaining candidates, only one third of voters this morning were Republicans.... According to Witten, there were 74 Democratic voters, 40 Republicans and six "other" votes.

POTOMAC PATCH: Potomac precincts are reporting a low turnout Tuesday morning, despite dedicated campaign visits from party members and 6th District hopeful John Delaney.... Polling officials and campaigners reported an 8:45 a.m. turnout of 117 voters at Precinct 04-12 located at Winston Churchill High School, while Bells Mill Elementary saw 116 voters by 10 a.m. “Turn out is slow,” said Merry Eisner, Democratic precinct chair for the Bells Mill location. “I’ve worked this poll for candidates in the past and I’m surprised by how slow it is given that it’s a presidential primary.”

TAKOMA PARK PATCH: Only 52 registered Democrats out of over 2,300 registered in precinct 13-06 voted as of 11 a.m. at Piney Branch Elementary School, according to Fischer.... But the more suprising number is that with the Republican presidential nomination still up in the air, only three Republicans out of 120 had come out to vote in the precinct.

BETHESDA PATCH: By 9a.m., the polling location at Bethesda Library was seeing a slow trickle of voters. When polls opened at 7 a.m., about three voters were waiting in line there, according to polling official Bill Felling.... 43 Democrats and 19 Republicans had voted by 9a.m., with about 25 of those showing up in the first hour, Felling said.

GREENBELT PATCH: Noting that he had been working the polls for 20 years and couldn't remember a primary where there wasn't at least one electioneer outside, election judge Alan Huff reported that today was a first. He had seen no one handing out pamphlets or campaigning all morning by the Greenbelt Community Center station, where about 50 people had voted by 8:47 a.m.... Other polling stations reported a similar dearth in voters. At 9:50 a.m. at Springhill Lake Elementary School, election official Kim Paz reported 10 people had voted.... By 12:20 p.m. at Turning Point Academy's station, a total of 71 people had voted. Democratic Chief Election Judge Clyde Davis said that it was averaging out to be about 17 voters per hour.... At Eleanor Roosevelt High School by 12:50 p.m., 99 Greenbelt citizens had voted. Thirty-five minutes later at 1:25 p.m., one more showed up, bringing the total to 100, Election Judge John Angotti reported.

BOWIE PATCH (Prince George's Countywide Turnout): Voter turnout across Prince George's County has been light so far today. According to county election officials, as of 11 a.m. only 3.1 percent, or 16,702 of the county's 536,458 registered voters had cast ballots.... As of 11 a.m., 3.4 percent of the 417,179 county voters registered as Democrats have voted. Repbulican turnout is a tad better, with 4.6 percent of the county's 47,011 Republicans voting. Another 156 voters cast ballots in non-partisan races such as the school board.... At the Laurel Boys and Girls Club, election judges said the turnout had been slow but steady throughout the day. Shortly before 2 p.m., the voter tally stood at 150 people.school, and wanted to be sure someone dedicated to education was elected... At Laurel Elementary, 125 voters showed up by midday, a slow turnout so far, said Chief Election Judge Mike Loveless. “I’ve been doing this a long time. This is slow,” he said, adding that Republicans made up 46 of the midday voter total. “We had some die-hards in here at 7 a.m. In College Park, by 10:40 a.m., 65 residents from precinct 21-08 cast their votes at Paint Branch Elementary School.

COLUMBIA PATCH: Only 39 voters had strolled into the polls at Harper's Choice Middle School by 11 a.m. on Maryland's primary election day. At Long Reach High School, one of the largest precincts in the city, the number was only marginally higher--127 voters as of 11 a.m.... At Longfellow Elementary School, 63 voters as of 12:37 p.m.... At Wilde Lake High School, with 100 voters by 11 a.m....

Look up more voter turnout ground reports at the Patch.com. I'm tired of cutting and pasting them here!

MD Juice News Feed:

This blog predates my campaign committee and is substantially unrelated to electioneering, but just in case, you can consider certain posts "By Authority: Friends of David Moon. Chair: Marlana Valdez. Treasurer: Usman Ahmed."